MLB Draft: Braden Montgomery goes to A’s in MLB Pipeline mock

Montgomery’s stellar junior year with the Aggies has firmly placed him in top four conversations

Braden Montgomery is one of college baseball’s standout stars in 2024, leading a Texas A&M squad that is widely considered the number one team in the country. Montgomery spent time as a two-way player for the Stanford Cardinal in 2022 and 2023, but with a full time move to the outfield in 2024 he has blossomed and solidified his place near the top of the 2024 MLB Draft. The Oakland Athletics just so happen to be sitting at 4th overall, and with his first mock draft of the year MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo projects the A’s to select Montgomery.

There is some major league potential for Montgomery as a reliever, but he has widened the gap significantly with his hitting prowess and ranks as the fifth-best prospect on both Pipeline and Baseball America’s draft rankings. In this particular mock draft the top three hitters in the draft get picked right at the top, and with the A’s historically-speaking unlikely to use such a high pick on a pitcher like Wake Forest’s Chase Burns, Montgomery is the clear next-in-line. Montgomery has done everything scouts could want to see him do this season, increasing his power production with a career-high 23 home runs, increasing his walk rate, and cutting back on strikeouts significantly. The switch hitter does have some swing-and-miss issues, but has progressed each year in college and has the raw power to be an impact bat. Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo also gives us some impressive data for Montgomery regarding his impact contact.